"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in years." Abraham Lincoln
A number of Newtown Rotarians paid their respect last week to George Stockburger IV, who passed away at the age of 83 years old. George was a 38 year member of our club. He served our club as President and also was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was married for 60 years to his lovely wife Nancy, a family of 5 children and 13 grandchildren.
May his memory be a blessing.
We roll into October and what a great dinner on Wednesday evening as the club spotlighted our Next Gen group. They spoke about the vision, goals and projects of the group in the Rotary year. In fact, this Tuesday October 7th, 2025 they will be doing garden maintenance at the Rotary rock/plaque located across the parking lot from Isaac Newton's.
Allow me to go back a week to our Camaraderie for a Cause held at Isaac Newton's on Thursday September 25th, 2025. What a night spotlighting the Newtown Library Company located in the Borough. One of the oldest libraries in the Commonwealth, we raised close to $400 for the library. A huge shout out to Joanna Hager, President of the NLC and Meg Griffin, board member for being at the event and telling those who attended why the library is an important part and fabric of the Newtown community.
We turn our attention to this Sunday October 5th, 2025 and the long awaited Peace Pole dedication ceremony at Peaceable Kingdom Park at 199 Lincoln Avenue in Newtown Borough. Festivities start at 4pm. A major shout out to Past President Debra Porter and her committee members Wendy and Shikha for the hours put in to make this a reality. Please come out, bring your own chairs and support this wonderful ceremony. Debra took the initiative from Past President of Rotary International (2024-2025) Stephanie Urchick for each club to install a peace pole in their own community.
We welcome to our Wednesday October 8th lunch meeting Dr. Patrick Jones, President of Bucks County Community College. I met Dr. Jones at a networking event in the early summer and invited him to our club to share his vision and goals of the college along with how our club can help their service clubs. The Community College has grown tremendously with the main campus in Newtown but also satellite campuses in Bristol and Perkasie.
Our October 15th lunch meeting are for committee reports facilitated by our Chairperson of the Board and former President Mick Petrucci along with classification talks and possible new member installations.
Then on October 16th for the beer lovers, the club will have a Beer Release Party to Eradicate Polio from 5-8pm at Warwick Farms located at 800 Almshouse Road in Jamison, Pennsylvania. A shout out to former President and current Assistant District Governor Kyle Davis for setting up this great event.
Guess what??? That is only half of the month of October. I don't want to forget that the club was involved last Saturday September 27th at Potential Inc's Car Show at Bucks County Community College. Also, tomorrow our club will have a presence at the Newtown Library Company's Market day and 5K run. A major shout out and thank you to all of the volunteers who have put in the time to represent our club at these events. Our club rocks and your commitment is outstanding.
A great way to connect with Rotary is through Rotary Voices, the Rotary International podcast that drops at least 1-2 per month. Outstanding topics discussed on the podcast and easy to retrieve through Spotify, Apple or however you retrieve your podcasts.
Fall is here, Red October is here with our beloved Phillies and the Rotary Club of Newtown shines making a huge and lasting impact in the community.
With that, "Service above Self."
Steve Sabel
President, Rotary Club of Newtown, District 7430
Please Pay Your Dues!
If you would like to remain a member of our wonderful Club, please be sure to pay your dues! Annual dues are $250 so you can bring a check to the next meeting or use this PayPal QR code (add $6 to cover admin costs if you use PayPal). Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Market Day Rotary Table - 10/4
Please volunteer for a shift on Saturday, October 4th at the Rotary Table at Newtown's annual "Market Day" organized by the Newtown Historic Association! This is a great opportunity for Newtown Rotary Club to create awareness for our club at this family friendly event, with colonial-era demonstrations, reenactments, and activities. Please sign up below for a two hour shift or please stop by and hang out if all spots are taken! We will be located right next to the Newtown Library.
Please join us at the Linton Memorial / Peaceable Kingdom Park on Sunday, October 5th where the Newtown Rotary Club will proudly install a Peace Pole for the community to enjoy. A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message ""May Peace Prevail on Earth"" in different languages on each of its four or six sides. This event will take place from 4:00-5:00pm and there will be music and celebration so be sure to join us for this very exciting event!
Please join the NextGen group on Tuesday, October 7th from 5:30-6:30pm to do some much needed landscaping around our Rotary Plaque in the Isaac Newton's Parking Lot. Dress in comfortable clothes, bring some gloves and water and be prepared to do some meaningful work. I'm sure the group will convene at Isaac Newtown's afterword for a much deserved libation! Please contact Tom Minutella at thomas.minutella@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thank you!
Please join our Lunch Meeting on Wednesday, October 8th at the American Legion from 12:15-1:30pm. We will welcome Dr. Patrick Jones, the President of Bucks County Community College. Dr. Jones will share the state of our community college and how can the Newtown Rotary work with Bucks County Community College to achieve our mutual goals. A buffet lunch will be available thanks to Joe Garvey so bring $16 and be prepared for a great meeting!
Please join us for our Lunch Meeting at the American Legion from 12:15-1:30pm on Wednesday, October 15th. We will get all caught up with Club happenings via Committee Chair updates. We are heading into our "busy season" so it will be great to get up to speed! We are also excited to induct New Members and hear three Classification Speeches as well! Bring $16 for a delicious Joe Garvey lunch, see you there! Also be prepared to be festive as this lunch will feature a Halloween theme!
Please join us for an exclusive "Beer Release Party" on Thursday, October 16th from 5:00-8:00pm at the Warwick Brewery located at 800 Almshouse Road, Jamison PA. Come out and bring your friends to have a great time, purchase (and drink!) some beer and raise funds for a really important cause. There will be 4-packs of our exclusive beer to go and of course you can drink draft beer on site. See you there!
Please join the Newtown Rotary Club for our annual Pedals for Progress Service project! On Saturday, October 18th, we will set up in the parking lot across the street from the Olde St. Anthony's Church located at 135 S. Sycamore Street from 9:00am - 12:00pm. During this time, we will be collecting adult and kids bicycles and sewing machines to send to developing countries around the world. These items will enable education and vocation for families in these countries. Bicycles allow students to get to school and adults to get to their jobs - things that we take for granted here in the United States. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Jerry Agasar at drjerry@agasarfamilywellcare.com. Please sign up for a shift below!
Please join us for the next Book Club on Sunday, October 19th from 3:00-5:00pm! This month's selection is "All The Beauty In The World", by Patrick Bringley. It was named one of the best books of the year and is an “exquisite”, “hauntingly beautiful” portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard. Stay tuned for the location but we wanted to share this right away so we can start reading! Please join us for some robust discussion and fellowship - it really is a great time! Please contact Laurel Collins at LAUREL8690@YAHOO.COM with any questions.
The Newtown Rotary Club was proud to host a Camaraderie for a Cause event to benefit the Newtown Library Company on Thursday, September 25th at Isaac Newton's! Meg Griffin and Joanne Hager spoke to a large crowd and shared so much wonderful information about the Newtown Library. Did you know that it's an historic subscription‑based library founded in 1760, and is still managed in part by dedicated volunteers under its original charter?! It houses a curated collection of over 20,000 volumes spanning two and a half centuries, including local historic archives! We are so lucky to have this wonderful place in our community so be sure to visit, you won't be disappointed. Special thanks to Isaac Newton's who hosted this great event. We were able to raise $400 which will go right to the Newtown Library.
Rotarians Helping Potential Inc!
Antique Car Show - 9/27
The Newtown Rotary Club was proud to participate in last weekend's "Antique Car Show" hosted by Potential Inc. This event was not just about sleek cars; it was about driving change and supporting a cause close to our hearts—autism awareness. We set up a very fun and interactive table that was supported by the amazing team of volunteers that you see pictured! Thank you to everyone who worked at our table and for the many visitors that stopped by. We have an amazing Club!
Rotarians Having Dinner!
Monthly Dinner Meeting - 10/1
We had quite a Dinner Meeting on Wednesday, 10/1 at the American Legion! We started off with a bang by inducting three wonderful new members into our Club! Please join me in welcoming and congratulating Dena Arrison, Rosemary Horsley,and Jennifer Nelson. Each of these fine ladies was sponsored by past President, Debra Porter, sworn in by District Judge (and Rotarian) Mick Petrucci and welcomed by Membership Chair, Mark Craig. Girl power was alive and well this night! We then had the pleasure of hearing from Tom Minutella, President of our NextGen Club, whose membership is focused on young adults. He shared the club's vision which is focused on community service and recruitment. As a "parent" club, we are committed to helping the NextGen team achieve their vision! If you are interested in learning more about our NextGen Club, please contact Tom at thomas.minutella@gmail.com. Can't wait for our next meeting which is a lunch meeting on Wednesday, 10/8!
Please join us as we head on the road and hold our Weekly Lunch meeting at Bucks County Community College. We will hear from President Dr. Patrick Jones about the state of the community college, future plans and goals and how the Newtown Rotary Club might be able to help achieve those goals.
ALL members of the club are welcome - particularly if you can't make a scheduled lunch or dinner meeting and a breakfast meeting or meeting on Zoom works better. Any member who has interest in service projects in Bristol, Bensalem, Middletown, or Falls Townships would also want to check us out. For more information, please contact Kim Praria kdboice@hotmail.com
Mark your calendars! Pickering Manor's "Sips n’ Suds" returns on Thursday, November 13, 2026 — an evening of good cheer, great community, and meaningful celebration. This year, Pickering Manor will be honoring the Newtown Rotary Clubwith the "Sidney T. Yates Award" for our dedication to making a difference in our community and surrounding communities! We simply must have a strong presence at this event to enjoy this well deserved recognition and become inspired to raise our game! Mark your calendars, ticket information forthcoming.
Community Volunteer Opportunities
This section provides our members an opportunity to volunteer in activities outside of Club activities to expand our reach and impact
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